Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala Part 7

=Imantodes cenchoa leucomelas= Cope

Chinaja, 4.

With the exception of one that was found dead in camp, all individuals were taken from low vegetation by day. The dorsum is creamy tan with 28 to 35 (average 32) chocolate brown blotches, and the venter is ashy white with small brown flecks. Three males have 238 to 248 (average 244) ventrals and 148 to 154 (average 151) caudals; one female has 239 ventrals and 142 caudals. The largest specimen, a male, has a body length of 660 mm. and a total length of 943 mm.

=Lampropeltis doliata polyzona= Cope

Chinaja, 1.

One female (KU 57156) having 230 ventrals and 54 caudals was found on the forest floor by day. This individual has a black snout with a white bar across the nasals and prefrontals, a white spot in the middle of the frontal, and a white band across the temporals and parietals that is bordered posteriorly by a black band. There are 28 white and 28 red rings on the body. The tips of the red scales are darkened. The black rings between the white and red rings are not so expanded as to interrupt the white rings dorsally as in _L. doliata abnorma_ as identified by Stuart (1948:70). Locally this snake, like all red, black, and white or yellow banded snakes, is called _coral_ or _coralillo_.

=Leptodeira frenata malleisi= Dunn and Stuart

Toocog, 1.

This specimen, a male having 173 ventrals and 69 caudals, was found beneath the bark on a log in the forest. In life the dorsum was pinkish tan with 36 chocolate brown blotches on the body; the venter was rosy pink.

=Leptodeira septentrionalis polysticta= Gunther

Chinaja, 3; Toocog, 11.

If numbers of specimens are indicative of abundance, this is the most common snake in southern El Peten. All were found at night in the rainy season. At a pond in the forest at Toocog these snakes were observed on low vegetation, on the ground, and in the water. Evidently they congregate at breeding choruses of frogs. One _Leptodeira_ contained a _Smilisca baudini_ and another contained eggs of _Phyllomedusa callidryas taylori_. The natives call this snake _nahuyaca_.

=Leptophis ahaetulla praestans= (Cope)

13 km. NNW of Chinaja, 1; 20 km. NNW of Chinaja, 1.

Both specimens were obtained from trees when they were felled. One individual (KU 55716) has a body length of 1345 mm. and a total length of 2035 mm. In life the entire snake was uniform bright green; the eye was yellow. In preservative the dorsum is dark blue, and the venter is green.

=Leptophis mexica.n.u.s mexica.n.u.s= Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril

Chinaja, 1; 15 km. NW of Chinaja, 1; Sayaxche, 4.

All specimens came from low trees in the forest. The largest specimen is a male having a body length of 724 mm. and a total length of 1236 mm. In life the middorsum was a golden tan; the top of the head was a vivid green. One individual had ingested a _Smilisca baudini_. The local name is _bejuquillo_.

=Ninia sebae sebae= (Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril)

Toocog, 1.

This specimen, a male having 144 ventrals and 55 caudals, was found beneath bark on a log in the forest. There is a black band five scales in length on the nape followed posteriorly by a red band six scales in length and then by a complete black band one and one-half scales in length. The rest of the body is dull red with 16 incomplete black bands one to one and one-half scales in length on the anterior two-thirds of the body.

=Oxybelis aeneus aeneus= (Wagler)

Chinaja, 1; 20 km. NNW of Chinaja, 1.

One individual was found in a low tree; the other was in a bush. Both specimens are males; the largest has a body length of 754 mm. and a total length of 1286 mm. Bogert and Oliver (1945:388) distinguished _O.

aeneus aeneus_ in Central and South America from _O. aeneus auratus_ in Mexico in that the diameter of the eye is more than the length of the internasal, whereas in _O. aeneus auratus_ the diameter of the eye is less than the length of the internasal. Stuart (1958:27) stated that on the basis of this character three specimens from Tikal in northeastern El Peten definitely were _O. aeneus aeneus_. Of the present specimens from southern El Peten, one has an internasal:eye ratio of 1.08; the other has a ratio of 0.87. A careful review of these snakes is needed to verify the validity of the characters used to separate the subspecies and to determine areas of intergradation. The local name for the vine-snake is _bejuquillo_.

=Pliocercus euryzonus aequalis= Salvin

Chinaja, 1; Rio San Roman, 1.

These specimens are tentatively referred to _P. euryzonus_. KU 57160 is a female having 130 ventrals, 87 caudals, and 23 black rings on the body; KU 58150 is a juvenile having 128 ventrals, 79 caudals, and 27 black rings on the body. In both specimens the tip of the snout is yellow; a broad yellow band on the parietals and temporals is bordered posteriorly by a black band on the nape. The black rings on the body are not bordered by yellow, but black rings on the tail have yellow borders ventrally. In the red inters.p.a.ces between the black rings, black flecks and spots, especially posteriorly, tend to form secondary black rings (Fig. 6a). According to Stuart (1948:71), _P. euryzonus aequalis_ has 25 to 27 black rings on the body, whereas _P. elapoides salvini_, which also occurs in El Peten, has 15 to 23 black rings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 6. Dorsal color patterns of _Pliocercus euryzonus aequalis_ (A) and _Micrurus affinis apiatus_ (B).]

The specimen from the Rio San Roman contained a partly digested _Bolitoglossa moreleti mulleri_. Locally _Piocercus_ is called _coral_ or _coralillo_.

=Pseustes poecilonotus poecilonotus= (Gunther)

Chinaja, 3; 20 km. NNW of Chinaja, 1.

Two juveniles were on the forest floor; one juvenile and an adult were on low bushes. The juveniles have a tan dorsum with reddish brown blotches; the belly is gray, and the iris is cream-color above and brown below. The one adult is olive-brown above and creamy white below on the anterior three-fourths of the body; posteriorly it is black above and below. There are no paravertebral dark stripes nor pale spots on the dorsal scales.

Two specimens (one juvenile and the adult) when encountered compressed the anterior part of the body laterally and struck repeatedly. Locally the adults are called _sumbadora_.

=Sibon dimidiata dimidiata= (Gunther)

20 km. NNW of Chinaja, 2.

Both snakes were obtained from trees when they were felled. In life the dorsum was pinkish orange with dark chocolate brown blotches narrowly edged with black.

=Sibon nebulata nebulata= (Linnaeus)

20 km. NW of Chinaja, 1.

This specimen, a male having a body length of 544 mm. and a tail length of 198 mm., was found in a felled tree. In life the belly was pink and black; the dorsal black blotches were narrowly outlined with pink.

=Spilotes pullatus mexica.n.u.s= (Laurenti)

Chinaja, 3; 20 km. NNW of Chinaja, 1; Sayaxche, 1.

This large snake, locally called _mica_, seems to be equally at home on the ground and in low trees and bushes. It is fast moving for a large snake; two individuals escaped capture. The natives said that this snake eats other snakes, but examination of stomachs revealed no supporting evidence.